Never Give Up
by McGlitterPawz
Summary: A girl and her older brother fight to survive in this world where the dead don't stay that way. She knows that she'll almost certainly suffer and it goes against everything she's been taught but she can't help it. As soon as Alexia Hunter sets her eyes on him, she knows what is going to happen next. Carl x OC Rated T for descriptive fight scenes and because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

I was fairly young when it happened. I can't necessarily tell you where I was or who I was with at the time because I wasn't really paying attention. There was only one thought going through my mind. _Don't let them touch_ _Eric_ _. Survive. Don't let them touch_ _Eric_ _. Survive._ I kept telling myself. I took my brother and ran. In all honesty, he didn't really need me to help him. He was older than me at about 13 and knew how to take care of himself and others better than I did. But I did. The only thing I really remember is when he was almost killed, I saved him of course. That doesn't mean it wasn't terrifying, though. But that was a long time ago. Things are different now.

 _Never let your guard down,_ _Mel_ _._

I shoot up from my pillow and my knife is already in front of my body, poised to kill if needed. I can already tell I'm covered in sweat and there's nothing in front of me other than a filthy wooden wall. Not that I'm complaining.

 _Everything you've got is a miracle. Never take it for granted, lil' sis._

Eric's constant pestering runs through my mind and I subconsciously run my hand through my hair and start to roll my eyes when I realize that absolutely no one will see it. I whip my head to my left at a sudden rustling and standing by the doorway of the house we've set up camp in is Michonne. She hold up her hands in a mock surrender and I laugh quietly and sheath my knife. I slowly make my way out of the _very_ comfortable sleeping bag and start to walk over to her when I trip like the klutz I am. I suppress the scream at the back of my throat and fall onto the ground… which is a little to lumpy to be wood. I look down and see my brother smiling at me as he pretends to attack me by actually tickling me (which is much worse.) I giggle and look to Michonne who is looking very amused at my predicament.

"You planned this, didn't you? Jerks. Sometimes I wonder how I deal with you two at all." I say with a grin lighting up my face even though I haven't eaten in days.

 _Quit whining, most people aren't even alive. By the way, do you really need to wear that shirt? It shows too much skin for my taste._

"You and me both, sister." Andrea says as she shoulders her way past Michonne and extends an arm for me and Eric. Winter had just ended and I certainly didn't miss anything about it. All I could do was try not to think about how my family would snuggle up on the couch together and drink hot chocolate to try and make up for the usual heat in our home in Georgia.

 _Don't think about the past, Melanie. Take life a day at a time. It only distracts from the now and you know we can't afford to be distracted._

After a while of planning and trying to make sure Andrea would even make it through the day, we collected our supplies and broke camp, heading out with the dead on chains to scavenge.

"Where is our final destination anyway?" Andrea asked after a long period of silence.

"Well, I'm thinking we can g-"

"Shh. What's that?" I cut off Michonne as I spot a large object in the sky hurtling towards where we're standing. Just as I realize what it is and the others do to, it crashes maybe 40 feet away from the group. Yep, definitely a helicopter. I'm sure I should be thinking if there are any survivors, but I've been taught differently and it's kept me alive this far. I exchange looks with my brother and we run out to the crash, scavenging any supplies we can. I get a few guns, some ammo, and protective gear before they come. I run to Eric as fast as I can and grab him. We run back to Michonne and Andrea and jump behind a bush as they arrive.

 _The dead aren't the only threats. Don't place your trust in people too quickly. Society is corrupt._

Of course when _he_ steps out I pull out my knife and ready my gun. I might not be a good shot, but Michonne certainly isn't better, Andrea is sick, and after what happened in the beginning of this, Eric isn't shooting any time soon.

~Flashback~

 _Eric picked me up and ran down what used to be our home. What was he running from? What used to be our little brother. It chased us into what I knew was my parents' old bedroom. Not a great idea. Immediately we were cornered by our own mother and father, our little brother not far behind. I was too young to fully understand the danger but Eric certainly wasn't. He had snapped off the end of the nearby bed's wooden frame. The bolts had been shot for a while and dad was about to replace them before it happened. He stabbed our mother in the head with tears streaming down his face and I was already pulling out the knife dad had kept in the drawer next to his old bed. As my undead brother came at me, I let out an anguished cry and struck him with as much force as I could muster with my small and afraid frame. He dropped dead and I thought it was over. It really was my fault that it happened. My brother was too worried about me that he was overpowered by the thing that was once my father who loved and cared for me and Eric. He went right for my big brother's hand. My brother screamed so loud that I thought we were certainly done for. Then I remembered what he meant to me and decided that I was not losing all of my family. I used my pure rage to stab_ it _with every ounce of my strength, killing it immediately and getting it off of Eric. He was writhing in pain and all he could do was shove the knife back in my hand and tell me to cut it off. Now, at an age like that, these kinds of things are hard to believe, much less carry out. I was oddly clever for my age and never questioned my brother's decisions. He pushed his arm out in front of me and I clenched my eyes shut as tight as I could and cut until his hand was clean off. Apparently, our screams were heard because a man who I later learned was the called the Governor came to the rescue._

~Flashback End~

As soon as I spotted him again, memories resurfaced and I would have pulled the trigger if it weren't for Eric taking it without any hesitation and giving me a look. I rolled my eyes and run my hand through my hear at his annoyingly wise decisions. I gritted my teeth and mumbled,

"Why do you always have to be right?" That's when everything went south.


	2. Chapter 2

We darted through the woods at the fastest pace our sick and not very well rested group could muster. I would frequently look behind me to make sure all of them were there because there was no way in _hell_ I would go back or put anyone else through that. The way those twisted minds work…

 _Get your head in the real world! Making up fantasies sure isn't going to make life any easier but it will definitely cost someone else for saving your sorry butt._

I shook my head to clear it of any irrelevant thoughts and focused on the task ahead. I was almost certain that we had escaped. Apparently I wasn't the only one because Andrea slowed down and turned around. I heard the shot before I felt it.

 _What?_

" _MERLE! MERLE! MERLE!" The crowds roared around me. I couldn't see anything. All I could look at was the vicious battle unfurling in front of me and the other residents of Woodbury. I stared with emotions that couldn't be deciphered. The clearest one was probably disgust or fear. I heard a sound next to me and I whipped my head to the side to see… myself? It looked like me, all except for one difference. I was one of the dead. Before I could even register what I had just seen, I started chasing me. I turned and ran as fast as I could but I wasn't moving at all. When I turned back to me, I had turned to my old friend, Penny._

" _You should have been with me, you coward. When I turned, you should have gone down with me but instead you ran like the little girl you are." She advanced towards me and I shut my eyes as tight as they could go but I was already tearing up. I opened them back up to face my greatest fail and saw my family staring at me._

" _Why did you kill us, Alex?" My dad asked._

" _You stabbed your own brother." My younger brother said._

" _You should have died with us." My mom declared._

" _All you do is slow me down and thanks to you I only have one hand." My older said. He pulled out a gun and shot it at my leg._

My ears rang and I tried to sit up only to find a sharp pain in my right leg prevented me from moving it. I hissed in pain and felt that I had indeed been shot in the back of my right calf. I was too busy being in shock and pain to notice what was going on around me. I tried to focus but I already couldn't see anything because of the bright lights and my ears wouldn't stop ringing. I was finally able to see and I saw a boy my age staring at me. That wasn't all that was in front of me, though. I could sense the gun hovering over my temple. My eyes adjusted to the lighting and I shot up from the oddly comfortable ground. That was when I realized I wasn't actually on the ground. I was in a cell on a bed with a boy my age with his eyes and his gun trained on my face. Again, I had one thought running through my mind. Well, two thoughts. 1. _Get Eric, get out._ 2. _Dang, this boy is cute._ What did you expect? A relevant thought? Ha ha ha, no.

"Where am-" I started but the boy immediately cut me off.

"How many walkers have you killed?" He asked. I cocked my head to the side in confusion and said,

"Too many to count." I looked him straight in his admittedly adorable eyes and he looked away and asked,

"How many people have you killed?" Before I could answer, my dream flashed through my head and I could feel that I was about to break down. I bit my lip, shut my eyes as tight as I could, and took a deep breath.

"Five." I answered, my voice cracking which made me blush. He raised his eyebrows slightly and asked one more question,

"Why?" That broke me. I couldn't control myself anymore. I just wanted to be with my brother and be safe. An involuntary sob escaped my mouth and I curled up in the smallest ball I could make with my arms wrapped tightly around my legs. Looking back on it, that might have made the boy a little uncomfortable. Oh well. I was too upset to care. Just as I started to cry uncontrollably, footsteps from outside the cell got louder and the weight on the bed shifted. I looked up to see my brother hugging me and trying to soothe me down. I swung my arms around his neck tightly and buried my face into his shoulder. After a minute or two, I had calmed down mostly. Someone cleared their throat and I realized that the boy was still standing awkwardly next to the bed, his gun in the holster. I let go and smiled slightly at Eric. He rubbed my head and got up, taking the chair a little way away from the bed but still in the room. I sniffled and resumed my posture, wiping away any tears. I took a deep breath and said,

"Either they… asked me to, or they threatened me or my brother." I looked confidently at the boy and after a second, he nodded and said,

"My name is Carl Grimes. You?"

"Alex, Alex Hunter."

"Don't worry, you're safe here." Eric said.

"Where is here?"

"Welcome to the prison, Alex. Try not to die."


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N So sorry for the wait! This chapter is pretty much just fluff and a filler but I needed the character development and a filler until something big happens. Shoutout to my best friend, Lily, who has watched only the finale of season six but all but forced me to write another chapter. Seeing as your birthday just passed, this is another present to you. Read on, my lovelies!)**

"Welcome," A man who introduced himself as Carl's dad introduced, "to the prison."

" _Thrilled_ to be here," I mumbled under my breath, careful to only let my brother hear it. He wasn't as amused as I expected. Instead of quietly snickering or throwing a quip back, he gave a slightly disappointed look and lightly elbowed me in the ribs. I scowled at him in return and we were interrupted as Carl's dad continued,

"You've already met Carl. My name's Rick. That's Carol," He pointed to a woman with short grey hair and a motherly but dangerous aura surrounding her. I prided myself on being able to read people, spent most of my time learning how to, and these people were no exceptions. Right off the bat, I could tell Rick and Carl had recently lost someone and, judging by the lack of a woman Rick's age, I had guessed it was Carl's mother.

"Daryl," A, there's no nice way to put this, white-trash-looking man with a crossbow and need of a haircut glanced at us with a guarded expression. I took that as a challenge. Eventually, this guy would be all figured out. I made a mental note about remembering and then focused my attention back on Rick as he introduced the rest of the crew. He left with my brother to discuss grown-up stuff I imagine, and left me with Carl to do whatever. We both just stood their for a second before I opened my mouth to speak. I was promptly cut off before I began as Carl asked,

"Tour?" I gave a laid-back smile and nodded at him which seemed to be a good enough answer as he smiled back and grasped my hand, walking briskly down a corridor to more cells.

"So, this is where the gang lives. You'll probably be in a different block. Not because you're evil and we can never trust you," He made two fists in mock-despair and I giggled under my breath, "Mostly, because we don't know you well enough to put our lives in your hands. No offense." I waved his concerns away, letting my smile form again, and he pulled me across the row of makeshift rooms to some new place. I glanced inside each one, trying to figure out who's was who's by just looking. My guessing game came to a stop when I spotted an open Green Arrow comic book sprawled next to a few other different issues on someone's bed. I had no idea whom they belonged to, but all I really cared about was that they existed. I stopped promptly in my tracks and gaped at them. Carl was jerked backwards slightly and frowned as he walked over to me and made a point of following my gaze. My peripheral vision was cast aside and I couldn't really see what he was doing, not that it mattered when someone owned these majestic beauties in the very building I had stepped foot in.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked, barely casting a quick glance over to Carl in time to see him staring at me with a goofy and giddy smile as he nodded energetically. I made a point of gasping as loud as I could and then gripped onto the bars of the cell as if my life depended on it, which it TOTALLY DID. I hesitantly tore my gaze away from the magical objects just out of my reach as I asked,

"Who's cell is this?" I settled my excited gaze on Carl's face as his was matched by my own. His goofy smile turned into a knowing one as he leaned on the bars and said slyly,

"Oh, this? Yeah, that's mine." My heart did a backflip and then dove right out of my chest as my stomach was suddenly a breeding ground for butterflies and my head was buzzing with excitement all at once. I felt my small and excited smile turn into a smile fit for Cheshire the cat as my eyes widened and I accidentally shouted,

"YOU LIKE SUPERHERO COMICS?!" My brother decided that would be a great time to walk into the wing and gave me a look of amusement and then changed it to one telling me off.

 _Sound attracts the walkers. Plus, that was my eardrum. Ow._ Oops. I brought a hand to the back of my neck and rubbed it sheepishly.

"Sorry." He waved it aside and then hesitated for a second before he said,

"Do you-um... I was wondering if you maybe wanted to, I don't know, have one? I mean, I've read almost all of them and you probably want them more than I do..." He trailed off at the end as I resumed my huge grin and said,

"Absolutely! Thank you so much, Carl." He smiled sheepishly before he looked back at the bars and quickly pulled out a key. He kept his stare at the lock until it was open and the looked straight ahead as he beckoned me in. I wondered for a second why he wasn't looking at me. I tried to stand in front of him to see his face but he moved aside and then looked down. I had been fighting off the walkers with just my handicapped older brother, though, so even as fast as he was, I had a quick glance at his face. I somewhat froze for a second as I registered the red tint to his cheeks but then dismissed it to let him out of it... this time.

I waltzed over to his collection sprawled on the bed and took them all in. I glanced at him for permission and he gave a curt nod before I turned and plopped myself onto his makeshift bed, staring in wonder at all my favorite issues. I gingerly lifted the Green Arrow off the bed and made a note of what page it was on before I flipped to the front. I examined it quickly and decided it was beautiful. I didn't even realize going into the apocalypse that such mundane things like so would be so... rare. It really made me appreciate the dedication that Carl probably had to go through to get them.

I felt the weight of the cot shift a little and glanced at Carl with a small smile before looking through the book some more. If I had been paying more attention like usual, I probably would've noticed the fact that Carl was staring at me in awe with a smile or the fact that maybe his small blush was a lot darker now. Instead, I thanked the comic book gods for this miracle and then gently opened it back up to his page before I set it down, looking back at Carl with a smile.

It was then that it struck me, I had not stopped smiling since I had met Carl and maybe...

Maybe that was a good thing.


	4. Chapter 4

**[A/N there will be a lot of skipping around in this fic. Sorry for how short it is. This is much after they got to the prison and is sadly the episode where Hershel dies :'( ]**

Unfortunately, not everyday was a fairytale.

Even after our little comic book moment, I still wasn't on friendly terms with Carl. He seemed closed off and cold most of the time so I figured he was just having a good day. Not that I cared, obviously. I mean, why would I care about how Carl was feeling?

I aimed my handgun and shot another bullet into a walker's skull, huffing loudly.

I'd have to quit lying to myself soon enough. There was no way I could deny now that I'd developed somewhat of a... _crush_ on Carl. Although, I actively did.

Max and I were somewhat on guard duty, although Maggie- who'd been the friendliest to me by far- was the one actually in the guard tower, keeping lookout. I felt a nudge on my arm and looked up at Max to see him staring down at me with a questioning look. I simply sighed again and lowered my gun, continuing to walk forward.

Max was naturally intimidating. At the height of six foot three- and only at age 17- and with a stump of an arm that easily looked like a war scar, even I would've shied away from him if I didn't know he was a complete loser. Sure, he was a pretty decent fighter and had kept us alive this far, but he was the jumpiest person I'd ever known. It didn't help that, behind the layers of clothing, he was scrawny as hell. My mom used to say he weighed the same when he was a baby, they'd just stretched him out some.

My mom...

 _If you only live in regret, you'll kill us all, Alex._

I shook my head to clear it of nonessential thoughts and turned to look up at my brother. No matter how much I made fun of him or called out his weaknesses, I loved him with all of my heart. I knew that I wouldn't fare very well with out him. But, for the sake of living in the world we lived in, I prepared for the worst.

 _Prepare for the worst, hope for the best._

I smiled at Max. I was immediately snapped out of it, though when the subject of my epitome appeared out of the prison, looking around until his eyes landed on me. He held my gaze and I didn't let up, sweeping all expression off of my face and staring straight back. Suddenly, a smile seeped its way onto Carl's face and only grew. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion and opened my mouth, only to close it a second later. I felt Max turn and follow my line of sight. To my confusion, he let out an resigned breath and holstered his gun, speed-walking towards the brunette. My own ginger hair fell slightly out of it's half-bun as I watched the encounter with a frown. My brother looked resigned and like he was giving up, whereas Carl looked ecstatic. That only confused me more.

As per usual, just as I was about to get answers, a disaster struck.

Max suddenly let out a strangled cry and fell to the ground, completely limp.

This was it.

Max was dead.


End file.
